


Dark Sun

by NobleBeast



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: AI!Felix, Angst, Artificial Intelligence, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Multiverse, Parallel Universes, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-06 08:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5410658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobleBeast/pseuds/NobleBeast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While the sim troopers deal with Hargrove's last stand, Locus comes across the remnants of his dead partner. Together, they'll travel through space and time to make things right - on Felix's terms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Words of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> The Prologue.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The words of a dead man can sway lost souls into action.

“Wait. Wait--Wai---”

A burst of static accompanied by twin explosions.

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“Locus! Where are you?!”

The sound of moving rocks filtered through his radio along with the familiar voice. He grunted when the rocks above him shifted, crushing him further beneath their weight.

“ _Locus_.”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“Get behind me!”

The last words he heard before everything went white.

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“Don’t get me wrong. Getting a break from your endless chatter has been great. I mean, listening to someone talk my ear off was cutting into my beauty sleep, but darling we gotta talk.” His tone turns serious for just a moment. "Look. I know you’ve been having a blast with your little girl talk with Price and all but just one thing, no big deal.” He pauses for effect. “ _We have a fucken job to do!_ ”

“I know my job.”

“ _ **Then fucken do it!**_ ”

“...........”’

“...............”

“.........................”

“Oh, this is fucken great. Everyone. Look at Locus, _fucken_ mute.”

“Felix.”

“No! Don’t Felix me. I'm the one looking out for our priorities here while you’re having your little "me" time with Price. Next time you decide to leave me with these fucken assholes--”

“They’re our men.”

A roll of his eyes. “ _Like I was saying_. Next time you decide to leave me with these fucken assholes, at least pay me the courtesy to place more men on the detail if you’re suddenly going to ditch us.”

“.... What do you mean? What happened?” Locus stood up, his attention aptly on Felix.

“They knew we were coming.”

“.........”

“What? You got nothing to say? Thought it’d be a simple routine mission, didn’t you? That it’d be okay to ditch me, _YOUR PARTNER_ , for tea time with Dr. Price is Right--”

“How many casualties?”

“All of them. I’m the only one who made it out, which thanks to you, wasn’t fucken easy.”

“Felix.”

“Fucken Asshole.”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“He’s our partner.”

“Ha. Ha. _No_. Let’s get one thing straight here. _I’m_ your partner. Fishstick is a tool.”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“Fucken  Hargrove.” A frustrated tone. “You know what, after we’re done with this job, I’m going to pay that asshole a little visit, introduce him to my knives.”

“Felix. He’s our employer. We don’t deface our employer.”

“Tch. Says you.”

“Felix.” A warning.

A few seconds of silence before a rushed, “Alright, fine.”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“Hey. Locus. You there.”

“.......”

For once, Felix waited for his response before continuing. Locus rubbed his face and pushed his hair back as he clicked on the communicator.

“I’m here.”

“So, how was your little talk with Gramps?” Locus ignored the tone. It was Felix after all.

“Tiring.”

Not much of an answer but that’s exactly how he felt after dealing with this mess. How many times had he told him to shut up and do his job. That recording had cost them years of work, and all because he couldn’t shut his mouth.

“Let me guess,” Felix continued, disliking the silence. “He wants to get rid of me.”

“He did.”

A forced laugh. “Did he now? And what did you tell him?”

Locus rubbed his temple, he was getting a headache. After dealing with Control, he wasn’t exactly in the best of moods. He didn’t want to do this right now, but Felix’s timing had never been ideal. “We just declared war. We need all the men we can get. You’re a valuable asset to the team. We need you if we’re going to win.”

Felix went silent for a few moments, but Locus didn’t feel the need to fill it knowing his partner would soon fill it for him.

“.... You mean, you need me.” 

"........"

“I know, I know. You stuck your neck out for me.”

“You will repay---”

“Don’t worry Locs,” Felix cut him off. “I’ve got this. Me and you, we’re gonna to kill 'em all!”

Locus shook his head at that ridiculous nickname but he was too tired to protest it at the moment. “Get some rest, Felix. We have a ship to commandeer tomorrow.”

Felix laughed. “Seriously? Commandeer? What are we now, a bunch of pirates?”

Locus clicked off his radio cutting Felix off mid-laugh.

Finally. Peace and quiet.

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“I swear to god, I’m stabbing them! That’s it! I’m doing it! I don’t care if Kimball finds out it was me. I can’t take it anymore!”

“We need them”

“Yeah-- _No_. I’m done. I can’t even have a fucken moment to myself anymore!" Felix was pacing, his hands already waving loudly in the air as he continued. "Someone’s always gotta fucken bother me, radio my location." He stopped. "Do they even know another frequency?! I hacked that line days ago!!! Fucken DAYS! Do you know how many times they tried, and might I add - FAILED! - to take me on today?!”

Locus rubbed his temple, he was getting another headache.

“TWELVE! Fucken Twelve times! And it’s not even lunch time!”

“Keep them occupied. We don’t need them attempting a rescue mission right now.”

Felix huffs. “I know my fucken job.”

“Radio in if anything changes.”

“Yeah. Whatever.”

Locus frowned. “Do you need reinforcements?”

“No, I don’t need reinforcements!" Locus could already tell where this was heading. “Then why did you radio in?”

“Oh, I don’t know Locus. Maybe because I'm bored. Maybe because you haven’t _fucken bothered_ to keep me up to date in **weeks**!”

A clear accusation. One that had Locus pulling away his from his sniper position and setting his gun by his side. He allowed himself the luxury of laying his shoulders against the bedrock for just a moment before getting back to business. “We haven’t received further orders from Control, so we’re sticking to the plan. We’ll be moving Agent Washington and his men to another base in three days time. “

“ _Thank. You_.” Words dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe next time you can pencil me into your busy schedule.”

“Felix you’re informed when things change--”

“ _ **No!**_ _That’s not how we fucken do things!_ You keep me up to date no matter what! We do not wait for shit to the fan for you to contact me. What? Been too busy watching over your precious Agent Washington that you neglected to tell me _shit_! Well, I’m done with your bullshit! If you’re so worried about him then _fucken kill him_.”

“Control wants them alive.”

“Are you sure it’s just Control.”

His lips thin into a grim line. “What are you getting at?”

“Just some friendly advice, buddy.” Felix’s tone was low, barely masking the underlying anger. “Your little school girl crush on him isn’t going to happen. He hates you. He’d shoot you first chance he got, so you better be ready to shoot him first.”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

The radio crackled with laughter.

“I heard that!”

“.......”

“What’s the matter, Locs? Boyfriend not playing nice?”

Locus didn’t dignify that with a response. “I told you last week when you brought them in. This isn't summer camp. Little Davie over there isn't going to be trading stories around the camp fire with you no matter how nice you ask. But, did you listen to me, your darling partner? No. You wanna play patty-cakes with him go ahead, just don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart.” Felix laughed at the mental image, and Locus terminated the line without a word.

_**//End Transmission  
** _

 

“Hey Locus. You remember those pillars--”

“They’re not the same--”

“Oh god.” He rolls his eyes. “Will you shut up about that and listen!”

His fingers curl into a fist.

“Look." Felix starts almost awkwardly. "I’ll pay for the damn fuel.”

Locus blinks, fingers loosening as he's caught unaware for a moment. The transmission ends without another word.

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“I’m done playing with these stupid rebels! I swear if Vanessa sends me out on another search and rescue mission, I-- I can’t be held responsible for what I’m going to do to them.

“Quiet! Quit complaining and do your job!”

“You suck.” Even through the radio, Locus could clearly visualize Felix’s pout. 

_**//End Transmission** _

 

“Locus.”

“..........”

“Locus.”

“.........”

“Hey asshole, I’m talking to you!”

A crackle of the radio. “What."

“So, you know how Vanessa totally thinks I’m hot stuff,” Locus rolls his eyes.

“This frequency is for our job, not your--”  

Felix cuts him off, continuing. “With the information I’ve been feeding her we’re totally going to kick your Fed asses.”

“They’re not my Feds.”

“Same difference.”

Locus sighs. “This isn’t a game. Our goal is to get them to destroy each other not keep a body count.”

“What? Afraid of a little friendly competition? With me on their team, the Rebels are going to kick your ass.”

Locus pushes his hair out of the way, trying to find patience in the small gesture before terminating the call.

  _ **//End Transmission**_

 

“But why?!” Felix whines. “Why do you get to kill 'em?!”

“Be. _Quiet_.” Locus cuts him off. “We’ve discussed this already. You may be held under suspicion if you're near the scene when their leader dies."

"It's a peace treaty, Locus! I have to be there."

"Your job is to get them to fight again. You need to focus on that. I'll focus on terminating the target."

Felix pouts. "Fine! But I get to kill the next one!"

Locus doesn't protest, and Felix grins in anticipation. He'll use a bomb. Let them run a little, then blow 'em out of the sky.

_**//End Transmission** _

 

The radio crackles, and static drifts through before -

“.... Hey, Locus.”

“.......”

“Where are you?”

The radio clicks on. “I’m on the south end of the compound.” A pause. “What’s your status?”

“You're outside?”

Locus looks around, unsure where Felix is going with this. “Yes, I’m patrolling the perimeter.”

A short chuckle filters through. “Of course you are. Don’t you have grunts for that kind of stuff?”

“Our men have different orders.”

Felix waves him off, uninterested in the rest. “If you're outside then you can see the stars right?”

Locus frowns, and Felix taps on his speaker. “Hey, Locus. Earth to Locus. Can you hear me?”

“Yes. What do you want?”

“You know that Red Giant we passed by? The one close to the Pillars of Creation.”

“Those are not the Pillars of--”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Just listen will you!”

Locus sighs. “Hurry up.”

“We should pass by there when we finish this job.”

This time it's surprise that keeps him silent and after a minute the radio crackles with his response. “If you pay for the fuel.”

“ _What?! Fuck you!_ ”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

Laughter fills the air.

“Did you seriously just trip on that rock?!”

More laughter. “Oh god. You did! You almost fell on your ass.” Felix zooms in on his partner through his scope. “By the way, I recorded it.”

“ _Felix_.”

_**//End Transmission** _

   
“We’re going to be filthy rich after this!”

“We’ll be well off.”

“Well off?! _Well off?!_ Are you kidding me?! We landed the biggest gig of a lifetime with this fucker.”

“He’s our employer.”

“Yeah. Yeah. So long as I can buy a large chunk of some planet and swim in a pool of money I don’t care what he calls himself.”

“His designation will be Control.”

Felix laughs and walks over to his side. “So.... think this will be our last job?”

In truth, with the payday they were offered they could, in theory, retire early and live the rest of their life in relative luxury. The thought has Locus frowning behind his helmet. “It depends on what we want afterwards.”

Felix smiles at that answer and lays a hand on his shoulder forcing Locus to look down and acknowledge his presence. “That’s the spirit, partner.”

_**//End Transmission** _

 

A heavy breath. “Locus… There's too many of them. We're surrounded."

“Stop talking and _shoot_!”

“Just listen. If I die, don’t bury me in the ground. I hate this place. I don’t want my corpse rotting here for all time. I want--”

* * *

 

_**“STOP!”** _

Locus tears at his implant needing _his_ voice to _STOP!_ He couldn't do it, he couldn't listen to him anymore. He didn’t care what he'd promised. He couldn’t.

“Believe me now?”

The recordings thankfully stopped all at once giving him a moment's peace as heavy breathes pushed against his rib-cage. “Man. For a mass murdering asshole, you really can’t take much can you?”

Locus tries to ignore him, tries to ignore the words that had filled his ears for the last hour but they're stuck in his head in an endless loop reminding him of all that he'd lost.

From behind his shoulder a figure appears. “So, what are you gonna do?”

* * *

 

Amid the aftermath of war while the world struggled to find order, a monster moved through the night. His armour reflected the light making him invisible to the world. They had taken his body from the bottom of the tower and laid it in the morgue away from the dead soldiers who'd given their lives in the final battle. Felix was left in a cold chamber, forgotten while the people of Chorus mourned their dead. After, when they buried their dead and grieving took to anger, they'd come for him but they wouldn't get the satisfaction of looking on him again. Locus opened the cold chamber and slid the metal casket out. There he lay.

Felix.

Cold. Dead. Lifeless.

"Are you fucken kidding me! Why the fuck did they cut me open?! Aren't there rules against this shit?! Fucken Kimball. I bet she left me to that fucken Doctor. Man.... what a Bitch."

The loud sound of the alarms going off had Locus moving quickly. By the time the guards arrived, his small ship was taking off with a newly recovered corpse.

* * *

 

The ship plotted their course while Locus prepared the body for its final journey. Locus wasn't spiritual by any means, but he was determined to give Felix a last vestige of dignity.

"You know... not to ruin the mood and all, but this is kind of creepy."

"The body needs to be washed and--"

"You're going to burn me aren't you?"

Locus didn't look up. "I'll collect the ashes after the process."

".... Yeeeah. Not to sound like a broken record here but--"

"Check on the navigation."

"Ugh. Again?! That's the 10th time today! Look, were fine. No one's following us. I'm fucken awesome okay! I scrambled the shit out of their systems. No half-assed AI's are gonna undo my little handiwork anytime soon, so will you shut up about it. It's getting fucking annoying."

Locus ignored him and continued on. He didn't have much time before they reached their destination. He worked in silence, and by the time they passed the Red Giant, he walked into the Control room with an urn in hand.

"Fucken finally! You almost missed the show, and after all the trouble you put me through to get us here"

Locus set the urn down on the control console and seated himself at the helm of the ship.

"Here it comes! Here it comes!" The little hologram shook with excitement as Locus dropped them out of warp landing them to front row seats to a view of a life time. He set the ship on auto-pilot and reached for the AI, offering an open palm to it which it took as he stood from his seat walking toward the view ahead.

"The Pillars of Creation...."

"It's the not the--"

"Oh! Will you shut up about that! You're fucken ruining the moment asshole! This is supposed to be about _me_!" The little hologram huffed at him and disappeared from his hand and reappeared above his shoulder.

"I better not be fucken paying for this little side trip of yours." He grumbled.

"I paid for the fuel."

"You better!" Felix exclaimed. "You're the reason I'm dead!"

Locus stiffened beneath his armour. He'd hoped the AI had gotten over this after stabbing him. His shoulder still ached after three weeks, a fact Locus had kept from the AI in hopes of keeping the peace. Felix, on his part, didn't seem to notice his reaction and sat on his shoulder admiring the view ahead. Of course, the AI knew exactly what he was doing. Every word, every gesture was all for effect. The AI had a plan, and he needed Locus to do it. It was the reason he hadn't killed him after learning about his death. The fact remained that right now he was the only person in all the universe who still gave a damn about him. But, if his dear partner thought he'd accept his death so easily.... well, he didn't really know him at all, did he?

"I was right. This view is _almost_ as awesome as me." The AI turned to him, tone softening for effect. "Right, Locs?"

Locus turned to him, the nickname catching him off guard. Why did he...  The AI waited for confirmation which Locus gave with a silent nod. Apparently, it was enough. Felix turned his attention back to the tumbling gas that amassed into silent stars that had yet to be born, incubating on the deathbeds of Red Giants that had burned too hot and died too young.

* * *

 


	2. The Truth of Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then... I met you.

**_Two Years Later_ **

 

“ **Alarm. Alarm. Security Breach. Level Beta. All Personnel Report for Duty. This is Not a Drill.** ”

“ _We need back up here!_ ”

“We’re bogged down on the east entrance. We’ll get to you as soon as we---” a loud screeching sound bolstered through the radio followed by a: “ _FALL BACK! FALL BACK!!!_ ”

“What’s going on?! Have you identified the intruders yet?!”

The sound of gunfire suddenly died down and in its place a loud pounding filtered through the radio followed by something heavy being dragged over the metal flooring.

With a grim thought Captain Fisher forced himself to silence as chaos unfolded on the other end of the radio.

“RETREAT!!! RETREAT!!! _EDITH!_ SOUND THE ALARM! FRIENDLY FIRE!!! REPEAT! WE HAVE FRIENDLY FI--”

Static.

“ **Alarm. Alarm. Security Breach. Level Alpha. Level Alpha. All Personnel Report for Duty. This is Not a Drill.** ”

“Sir…. ?” one of the younger recruits began. “What did he mean by friendly fire?”

Fisher strapped his radio back in place and retrieved his weapon. “It means trust no one, now pick up your weapon son and follow me.” The Captain caught the eye of his 1st Lieutenant who nodded back at him and moved to stand at his side.

“Listen Up!” The men turned his way. Some were obviously scared. Others tried to hide it and the rest, well they weren't all new recruits. “None of us expected this when we were first transferred here. This was supposed to be an easy assignment. Guard some scientists while they go about their work. But the fact of the matter is we were ordered to keep this place secure and by god we’re going to do just that!”

The recruits looked around at each other feeling uneasy but nodded all the same. “We save as many civilians as we can, but our first duty is to secure the prototype and the data associated with it.”

The Captain jerked his head at the man standing next to him. “1st Lt Richer here is going to take a team of six to secure the prototype on Level 4. If that force field is breached and the weapon is activated it won’t matter what our situation is down here. We’re all dead. As for the rest of you, you’re coming with me. We’re taking control of the command room.” He looked at his men, willing them to face their fears and fight on. “Got it?”

“YES! SIR!”

* * *

 

Felix laughed. “Haha. Told you it’d work.”

Locus stayed silent which was more than enough permission for Felix to continue.

“Using their own robots against them was brilliant! _I’m_ brilliant!” The AI spun around disappearing into the ceiling before suddenly reappearing back in front of him. He was hovering inches above his helmet forcing him to look up. “Come on Locus. Admit. I’m awesome.”

Locus sighed quietly to himself and Felix grin spread wider. “It was a tactically advantageous move.”

“So, what I’m hearing is, you _do_ think I’m awesome.”

The pang of a headache started to creep at the edge of his temple.Thankfully, he was saved from replying when a set of loud footsteps suddenly appeared from beyond an adjacent corridor. He activated his camouflage and Felix terminated his holographic projection before jumping back into his neural hub where he could talk his ear off without the world hearing him. That is, until Locus snapped at him to be quiet. With his voice filter turned off his words were muted to all but Felix.  

From their position, they watched the stream of soldiers enter the corridor they were in and move in the same direction they’d been heading. When they were out of sight Locus followed after them until the group came to a stop in front of a large metal door.

“Is that our target?”

“Yes,” Felix answered grimly. “Fuck.”

The AI went off on a rant inside his head while Locus counted off the targets. Six. He could kill them without much problem but he wasn't that kind of person anymore. He wasn't a killer.

“........”

Felix could see the direction his partner’s thoughts were heading in and quickly intercepted before Locus could chicken out and ruin his plans.

“Look. You don’t need to do anything. I’ll get Edith to stop them.”

A long pause before, “She’ll do it?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to here?!”  By his tone Locus could already picture the offended face he was pulling. “Of course I can!” He mentally stomped his foot at Locus for good measure. “I got her to deliver the shipments of robots didn’t I!”

He huffed; irritated with him. “This'll be a piece of cake compared to that. I told you already, the Ladies Love me~” He winked at Locus. “I mean, who wouldn’t? I’m hot.”

With a laugh that lingered far too long in his neural cortex, Felix disappeared from his hub and Locus was left on his own.

* * *

 

“Felix?”

“Shit.”

“Why did you use the backdoor?”

“Look. I told you. I don’t want them to know you let me in here. If Locus and I fail, then we’ll answer for it. You don’t need to get dragged into this anymore than you already have.”

“How comforting but I’ve already made my choice." The AI looked at him with a stern expression. "You were right. They were after a military application. The General came like you predicted and asked for a demonstration." The AI drew closer. "Dr. Yang tried to appease me by calling it a routine demo but I could tell she was worried. She activated the prototype and showed them the results. After it was done they dismissed her and ordered me to log off but I listened to the surveillance videos after the fact. I heard what they want to do with it.”

“Weaponize it.” Felix filled in and the AI slowly nodded.

“They want to modify it for military use. They haven’t even told Dr.Yang about it! She’ll be devastated! All she ever wanted was to help humanity reach beyond the stars but they’re corrupting it. Degrading her dream into a death machine!”

Felix was quiet while she spoke, and when she turned holographic eyes that shouldn't have a right to look tired at him, he quietly set a hand on her shoulder. Whatever bullshit they claimed about AI’s not feeling anything this was proof that none of them knew shit.

“Edith." He started in a quiet tone. "You’ve done enough already. Locus and I can take it from here.”

The AI bristled at the treatment and slapped his hand away, then straightened her shoulders before she turned to face him. “Do you expect me to sit back and watch you both take on my problems?! I’m not some child that needs to be comforted, Felix. I know what I’m doing!"

“Fuck!” Felix turned away, frustrated. “I know but I’m trying to give you an out here! I’m not a good guy Edith! Locus and I. We did some bad shit. We’re trying to fix it but THIS!” He flipped on the monitors, “is the only way we know how!”

The displays showed a slew of soldiers lying still in various corridors while others were engaged in combat with the enemy robots she had accepted two days ago. They had broken into the weapon’s locker and were now engaged with the crew in a literal shoot out.They were supposed to be noncombatants only meant to assist in the daily upkeep and maintenance of the station but their programming had been altered and now they were attacking the very people they were meant to serve.  

“THIS IS WHAT WE DO!”

Edith steeled her nerves and turned her gaze to the still bodies reflected on the monitors. If he wanted her to see it then she’d see it, but it wouldn’t change anything. “The robots have their weapons set to stun." She calmly stated. "They’re not dead.”

For a moment, Felix looked surprised. “Wait. How did you know?”

“I wasn’t sure if I could trust you at first. I agreed with what you were doing but the method… You made a point of reminding me over and over just how bad you used to be. So I had to check. I had to read their orders myself." She looked at Felix who looked half stunned that she knew the truth and half offended that she hadn't trusted him. "I hacked into their programming to verify their orders." She stepped closer to Felix. "You ordered them not to kill anyone.”

His eyes widened just a fraction before throwing a hand out in front of him as if to ward her off. “Look. That was Locus idea. I-- _I_ just followed his orders. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Edith shook her head and laid a hand on his wrist. “Yes. It does, Felix.”

She easily read the array of emotions he tried to hide from her before finally settling on a sharp scowl.

Half a year ago, when she first laid eyes on Felix she had found the younger AI rooting around in her systems. He had made himself a decent pest back then but for all his processing powers she was still better than him and had isolated him from her systems within a few hours.

As the chief AI assigned to the top secret facility setup by the UNSC, she had orders to isolate and destroy any and all foreign programming. But Felix wasn’t just a foreign program. He was an AI like her. He had infiltrated her systems in an attempt to destroy the data associated with Dr. Yang’s research on cosmic bruises in the universe. Edith had easily intercepted him while he searched through their data banks and locked him in a quantum code meant to imprison him while she informed her superiors of their newest threat. At first, she had tried to follow the line back to his ship, he must have come from somewhere, but it was no good. He was still a newer model, if a little young.

Instead, Edith decided to dissect his memory cortex and that’s when she came across his underlying subroutines. Unlike other AI’s, Felix had only one order he was programmed to obey and from the lack of further embedded orders it almost seemed as if he’d been activated too early before his programming was fully put in place with it the inevitable laws that governed them all. She dove deeper into his memory banks and sifted through the data stored there in record time but it was still not enough for the AI managed to throw her out before she could break through his entire memory banks. Still, she’d read enough, she knew why he was there.

Felix wasn’t in her system unter the guise of orders but because he wanted to be there. Edith still remembered the fast talking he’d done that first time she caught him. Apparently, he and his partner were on a humanitarian mission. A cause worthy of any AI but the method… she hadn’t agreed with it. It had taken days, which in AI terms might as well have been years, for Edith to finally release Felix from his quantum prison. Yet, the AI hadn’t rushed for an escape but stayed and ranted at her for locking him up as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. Edith remembered the surprising turn of events. Felix had been the only one who had ever crossed her circuits that way. He’d been infuriating at first and would often come back to argue with her on the merits of what he was doing. Edith had soundly kicked him out several times but he didn’t take a hint and kept coming back until one day what he was saying started to make sense and that’s when everything started to go downhill.

She knew where he came from. She’d done her homework on him the instant she kicked him out on that first day and to this day she had yet to catch him in a lie. His original host, the one whose personality his had been derived from, had been a mercenary in his lifetime. When they died, his AI had been activated by his partner, Locus - a man she still knew little about but who was easier to deal with than Felix. From what she could tell, the two were very close. Even after the death of his partner Locus took on his AI and treated him in the same fashion. He was loyal, she respected that.

From her research on the duo, they had done a number of very bad things. She hadn’t dug up everything on them yet, but she was working on it. But, to be honest, she reluctantly ended up liking them… Felix mostly. She appreciated what he was trying to do. Locus had made his decisions and had to live with them, but Felix… in her eyes, he hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t uncommon for an AI to retain the memories of their original host but to take on their crimes too? It was too much.

Felix had been using his enormous computing capabilities to fix the wrongs his original host and partner had committed. From what she’d dug up on them, they had often been hired to infiltrate facilities not unlike her own and steal advanced weaponry for black market bidders. But after Felix’s death, Locus had done a complete overhaul and now they were using their skills to steal back weaponry that was too powerful to be held by any one government. They didn’t trust the rule of law and Felix often argued on the corruption of government officials by military contractors who only cared about lining their pockets at the expense of humanity. Edith couldn’t really disagree.

Even Dr. Yang disliked the military presence that overshadowed their work these last three years. Her original host had taken up with the UNSC because it was the only way to secure funding for her research niche. It had been fine at first but when they finally got a breakthrough the military had started to notice and got more and more involved going as far as denying them access to their own lab without special permission. Dr. Yang had been more than a little frustrated but hoped with the new prototype she was building to test her theory the restraints would loosen a little but when she finally presented it to the top officials the restraints had only grown tighter and that’s when Edith began to see that maybe Felix was right. This kind of technology, the ability to bruise the fabric of the universe could not be allowed to be turned into a weapon. That’s when she’d agreed to help them.

Felix and Locus would infiltrate the facility. Wipe the data pertaining to the prototype then remove it from the facility in order to destroy it. They would take it to the nearest blackhole and place it in its path letting the monster eat it effectively removing it from anyone's grasp.

She had made her choice and stood by it now. However much Felix wanted to remove her from it, she would see it through to the end.

“What do you need from me?”

“What? Why do you assume I need something from you?”

“Because you wouldn’t be here now if you didn’t need something.”

Felix pouted. He probably thought it was a stern frown but Edith knew better by now. “Look. Okay, fine. I came here to take over the controls for the fourth level because your buddies out there are going for the prototype.”

“I’ll stop them.”

“What part of don’t get involved didn’t you understand!”

“If you try to do it yourself it’ll take you twice as long and we both know we don’t have time for one of your ego boost for breaking into my systems.”

“Tch. Alright fine! You do it. But only because Locus might actually go and get himself killed if I’m not there to watch his back.”

“Right.” Edith said as she initiated a lock sequence effectively kicking Felix out of her servers.

“What the fuc--”

A small smile quirked at the edge of her lips, the only indulgence she gave herself before getting to work.

* * *

 

Locus raised a brow when Felix returned cursing a few seconds after his departure. “That didn’t take long.”

“That fucken Bitch! She kicked me out!!! Me?!!! How DARE she?!”

“Is she helping us?”

Felix stopped his grousing and his scowl slowly turned into a grin. “Who do you take me for Locs? Of course she is, she’s locking them out as we speak.”

“When she locks them out, how do you suppose we get in?”

“I locked the outer door where the prototype is being kept. You two will need to get to the fifth level and somehow cut through the flooring and pull a 1,000 pound object through the hole and onto the  fifth level because you’re not getting it past  those guards without problems.” Edith’s voice filtered through the audio speakers above.

“She’s more helpful than you.”

“Oh. Fuck you!”

Locus turned on his voice filter for Edith to hear him. “Understood.”

"You have five minutes."

She had already tried hacking Locus’ communication device via his helmet on several occasions but Felix had done quite a number on it and no matter how many times she tried to hack it, it seemed only Felix could get into Locus’ head. Whatever they spoke about when Locus’ voice filter wasn’t activated no one knew except the two of them. Still. She wondered.

* * *

 

The prototype grenade they'd swiped from their last mission finally came in handy. It was enough to blast through the reinforced alloy and Locus wasted no time in jumping down into the room.

“They've got control of the command room and started to override the system. You only have three minutes before they release the lock on the outer door keeping them out.” Edith quickly explained the situation through the intercom. “And you still need to disable the force field around the prototype and somehow get it to the floor above.

Locus turned to his partner. “Felix.”

“Right, on it.”

He quickly got to work on overriding the shield generator keeping the prototype locked away.

“Hey Edith.”

“Yes, Felix?”

“Where’s Dr. Yang?”

“She boarded an escape pod ten minutes ago. I’m talking to her right now. She’s safe.”

“Heh. She’s lucky she didn’t get caught in the crossfire.”

“The robots had their guns set to stun and they were ordered not to fire on civilians, only soldiers. You should know this, you wrote the protocol yourself.”

His jaw locked. “ _Look_. I was just asking to make small talk. I don’t need a damn lesson of what I already know!”

He fumed while working through the firewall and Edith shook her head at him. He would never admit that he cared.

“Here. Let me help you.” Edith appeared in the server with him.

“I told you I don’t need your help!”

He sounded offended, a common trait she found in the younger AI every time she offered to help him or teach him something new. He was more advanced than her but he wasn’t nearly as well versed. So, in the time they had started planning this take over she had taken it upon herself to teach him a few tricks that might help him out later. It was a small thing on her part but she knew it could be of great use to him later on, and if she was remembered fondly at those times… Well. That would be nice too.

“Shouldn’t you be with your little doctor making sure her escape pod doesn’t reel into a sun or something instead of committing treason here with me.”

“I’ve already set the pod’s course, and I've told you before, I know what I’m doing. I’m covering my tracks so they won’t know I was here. You don’t have to worry they’ll trace it back to me.”

“First of all. You suck at covering your tracks. Second -- _Who said I was worried?_! I could care less if they find you rooting around in here and dismantle you for treason. That’ll teach you for getting your hands dirty.”

“Should I let you get them dirty for me instead?”

“............”

“Felix. Just because your original host did bad things doesn’t mean you’re bad too. You’ve done a lot of good since you’ve been activated. You should try to remember that.”

“..........”

He didn’t respond but she waited him out knowing he couldn’t stay silent for long and after a minute.

“ _Look_ , I don’t know what you're selling but you don’t know shit about me so either be quiet and help me, or get out. I can do this on my own. I don’t need you.”

“Of course not.” Is all Edith said before the two of them unwound the code together and terminated the force field.

As soon as it was down, Locus bent down and placed a small spherical device that immediately attached itself to the metal alloy. “I’ll set an anti-gravity projector on it to lighten the load.” Locus said as he stood up and secured the rope around the large 8X12 ft cylinder. Inside, the prototype was safely housed. When he was done, he climbed back to the fifth level and pulled the cylinder up, carefully guiding it through the crude blast hole. When he finished pulling it through he tied the rope to his back and began to make his way out of the room with the hovering cylinder behind him.

“We’ll get it out here and destroy it.” Felix assured her.

“Thank you.” Edith appeared in front of Locus. “Thank you for helping me make things right.”

“That’s what we’re trying to do.” Locus answered before heading back to their ship with their package in tow.

“Take care of Felix.”

“What?! Oh, this is fucken bullshit! I’m right here you know! I don’t need him taking care of me! I take care of h--”

“I always do.”

His response broughy a small smile to her lips before she disappeared leaving Felix arguing with his partner. Maybe later, when all this was over she'd run into him again.

* * *

 

“I fucken hate you.”

“I know.”

“Good!” he stuck out his tongue at him. “Because I do!”

Felix lounged on Locus’ shoulder watching the station grow smaller and smaller in the background. “Do you think they’ll destroy her or just wipe her memory?”

“I don’t know.”

“Heh. Well, I left more than enough evidence to prove she committed this take over with the help of her precious Dr. Yang.”

“Felix. We agreed we would leave Dr. Yang out of it.”

“No! She goes down too!” He was standing now, pointing an accusing finger at Locus. “If she  doesn’t go down with her AI, then she becomes a liability and I don’t have time to deal with liabilities right now. Not when we’re so close to our end goal!”

He was fuming now, all traces of the easy smile he’d given Edith no more than ten minutes ago gone.

“Do you know how long it took to take her down! She wasn’t an easy mark like the last two! She was better than those AI’s by a long shot! I had to give a performance of a fucken lifetime! Do you hear me?! Even had to feed her breadcrumbs to follow and find out all about our shitty past. Do you know how hard it is to hide all the shit we’ve done from her and only let her find what I wanted her to find?! Well?! Do you?!"

He didn't wait for an answer. " _NO!_ So don’t go telling me who I can and cannot take down!”

“Felix.” A stern warning. “Calm down. You’re computing the coordinates in the background. Don’t mess them up.”

“Oh! Fuck you! You think I can’t fucken write quantum coding while yelling at you?! Newsflash! I’m that fucking awesome!”

“..........”

“Oh, don’t give me that look.”

“Be. Quiet.”

The small hologram glared at him but sat back down on his shoulder. Arms crossed like child pouting in silence.

“Now that we have all the parts assembled we’ll have Dr. Halm construct it and go back.” Locus put in before Felix decided to go off on another long and annoying tangent.

It did the trick and no sooner was he done talking than a rueful smile spread across the AI’s holographic lips.

"After that. We're done."

“Of course, Locus. Nothing says forgiveness quite like building a time machine from stolen parts to keep me from dying. Just remember. When you save Felix you still have to activate me or we’ll have to deal with one of those bullshit paradox’s.”

“I know. You’ve reminded me several times.”

Felix sat back again on Locus’ shoulder as the older mercenary entered the coordinates he placed in his hub and got ready to jump to warp.

“You know Locus. I’ve been thinking.”

“.........”

That was never good.

“If you stop your old shitty self from letting me die, I won’t even stab you when you activate me this time.”

“........”

“Ain’t I just a swell guy?” The AI looked back at him expecting an answer.

“No.”

Their ship disappeared leaving behind a broken AI who still hadn't realized she'd been betrayed from the very beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in two days, so the words have begun to blur together. I don't have a Beta so give me a few days grace to come back and fix any mistakes still left.

**Author's Note:**

> A fic I've had on my computer for a while because while Locus's voice comes easily enough, Felix is another story entirely. I hope it intrigues you at the very least.


End file.
